"Stochastic Sheep", 2026 (non finito)

We get birds hitting our windows sometimes, but today was something new. A full grown turkey slammed into our kitchen window, lol. I looked outside and she was fine, but startled, and there were something like 8 little turkey fledglings darting around. We have a humming bird friend now too.

We've been throwing corn out to our squirrels, it's so funny watching them run around trying to stash the cobs.

The Luddites are having a moment (again): they're being discussed and rehabbed everywhere from NPR to US Catholics Magazine to Psychology Today. So, adapted from my book on the subject, here's a short-ish rundown of what you need to know to understand the Luddites in the age of AI.

Understanding the Luddites in the age of AI

The Luddites are back in fashion, but too many people still get them all wrong. This is what they really stood for, fought against, and why they matter now more than ever.

bloodinthemachine.com

Brian Merchant@bcmerchant.bsky.social · 2mo ago

NPR has a 'Word of the Week' series, and this week it's LUDDITE I spoke with Emma Bowman about who they really were and about the new luddites organizing against big tech + AI A fun one and, since it's airing on All Things Considered, maybe the biggest-audience luddite rehabilitation effort yet

You would never sit down and eat two full sized potatoes while watching a movie, but turn them into chips, and it's just a little snaaack.

The entirety of Disclosure Day I was thinking about how it would've killed if it were adapted as the third and final X-Files movie.

Somewhat of an update, they're doing well it seems!

Reid Southen@rahll.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Saw a family of woodcocks crossing the road and immediately turned around to help, but by the time we got back, the mother had gotten hit. I crawled under a railyard gate and we were able to find all 4 babies after rooting through poison ivy, but my heart is so heavy from watching the mother pass 😔

There is a bill in California that would allow creators to look under the hood of AI training datasets to see if their work was being used, but it needs your support - please sign this petition, it’ll take you 2 minutes: tinyurl.com/4uxbp963 (video credit hitrecordjoe on IG) 1/

My company just bought Claude licenses. Our IT VP asked it to put FAQs from a Word doc into a PowerPoint. $0.57 token cost for that one task. We’re a several thousand person company. We’re going to spend 5 years of IT budget on Claude in a week.

What a ghoul she turned out to be.

Hart Cunningham@hart28.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Michigan Governor caught on hot mic with Oracle CEO Clay Magouyrk, discussing citizen opposition to AI data centers, bragging how she ignores their concerns: “We’re used to people saying 'f*ck no,' & doing it anyway.”🇺🇸

Potentially huge? Google held liable for AI hallucinations in a German court. I.e. if google AI tells you to glue rocks to your pizza, they are responsible. the-decoder.com/landmark-ger...

Landmark German ruling declares Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable for false answers

A German regional court has ruled that Google is directly liable for the content of its AI search overviews. According to the court, previous limited liability protections for search engine operators ...

the-decoder.com

If you want AI companies to have to divulge their training data, sign this!

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Black Forest Labs (like Stability AI) likely took a bunch of work off the internet in order to train their AI. A bill in California would force transparency in their dataset. Want to help it pass? Please sign this petition in support, it'll take you 2 minutes: tinyurl.com/4uxbp963 1/

🔥 Sign sign sign! This is for the AI transparency bill that would require AI companies to divulge their training data. It keeps clearing hurdles, help it clear the last few! Anyone can sign it, go go go!

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The only way for this AI "competitor" to function is by taking a bunch of work off the internet without consent. A bill in California would force transparency in their dataset. Want to help it pass? Please sign this petition in support, it'll take you 2 minutes: tinyurl.com/4uxbp963 1/

Hey... I uh... I'll be speaking at ICON13 in July on the mainstage! I pulled an all nighter delivering my slides where I had to reduce it from 140 to 95, so you HAVE to go, it's only fair.

Some people treat social media like a human search engine. Instead of spending 8 seconds on Google, they'll ask easily verifiable things to strangers. It's like asking someone else to pull out their phone and tell you the time when you're already on your phone. Just wasting everyone's time & energy.

If you can make it there, I promise you it makes a difference!

Deana Igelsrud@digelsrud.bsky.social · 2mo ago

THIS MONDAY (6/8) - STAND UP TO BIG TECH IN SACRAMENTO - BE THERE!!! THIS MONDAY (6/8) 3pm (or when the legislature adjourns), Capitol Annex Swing Space, 1021 O Street - Rm. 2100, Sacramento, CA. Please RSVP in case the schedule or room changes. RSVP here ... docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

I'm probing an AI image model right now for infringing material, and it's doing things I've never seen before in a way that I think proves the compression argument beyond a shadow of a doubt. I'm honestly gobsmacked.

I haven't shared my Alien: Earth work yet, but I was digging through an old folder and found a really early rough render from when I was concepting the ship crash. This was 5 years ago now if you can believe it. Will get around to sharing more soon!

Saw a family of woodcocks crossing the road and immediately turned around to help, but by the time we got back, the mother had gotten hit. I crawled under a railyard gate and we were able to find all 4 babies after rooting through poison ivy, but my heart is so heavy from watching the mother pass 😔

Anyone who's used Da Vinci Resolve can see that he's quite literally touched nothing here in the color workspace. It's kind of like taking a picture of a cockpit at an airshow, and then telling everyone you were flying the plane. AI "filmmaking" is such a LARP.

A message from Mary, a 72-year-old Amazon worker from North Carolina projected onto Jeff Bezos’s $120 million penthouse before tonight’s #MetGala, chaired by Bezos.

had a wonderful time talking to @bcmerchant.bsky.social about why and how people destroy surveillance & AI instrastructure as political and economic protest: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z4k...

The New Luddites: Why People Are Destroying Surveillance and AI Infrastructure

YouTube video by 404 Media

youtube.com

I very much enjoyed this discussion about the growing AI resistance and the destruction of surveillance infrastructure with my good friend Jason

404 Media@404media.co · 3mo ago

People are physically destroying AI and surveillance infrastructure. This week, we talk to @bcmerchant.bsky.social about the Luddites, who are notoriously misunderstood and fought for worker protections against automation during the Industrial Revolution. Watch now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z4k...

One thing that really bugs me is people who go, "AI is here, I don't like it either, but we have to adapt," and then they gleefully post AI stuff. Yeah, you sound really cut up and conflicted about it.

My partner is playing some game on her phone and goes, "I hit the early middle ages," and I go, "Yeah you have," to zing her, but hurt my own feelings because she's only a few weeks older than me.

If you're looking to get your portfolio off of ArtStation, @atmovfx.bsky.social has a new tool that allows you to essentially import your gallery automatically to ATMO. It's a great site for professional environment artists or inspiration, check it out if you haven't already! www.atmovfx.com

Muttering, "Just one night of good sleep and I'll be back to normal," every day until you die.

Our smallest cat just brought me a whole roll of paper towel as a gift. Two nights ago it was a Prismacolor marker. By next week it could be a piece of furniture.

A selection of shots animated by Kim Kyeongbae for Scavengers Reign (2023), created by Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner, Titmouse

This song kicks ass and the video is a real treat if you love movies, too cool.

Joywave - Obsession (Official Video)

YouTube video by JoywaveVEVO

youtu.be